Dr. Abdel-Mageed received his D.V.M. from the University of Khartoum, Sudan, in 1983. He was a veterinary practitioner and a faculty member of the Department of Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Khartoum until 1987. Dr. Abdel-Mageed obtained M.S. (1989) and Ph.D. (1993) degrees in molecular physiology/toxicology at Kansas State University before joining Tulane as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology with Dr. Krishna Agrawal in 1994.
Dr. Abdel-Mageed became a research instructor of pharmacology in 1996, continuing his training in molecular cancer pharmacology. He studied genes associated with breast cancer cell growth and their interaction with nuclear transcription factors to mediate mitogenic responses. In 1997, Dr. Abdel-Mageed joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Urology and adjunct assistant professor of pharmacology. He is founding director of the Molecular Oncology Research Laboratories in the Department of Urology. He has over 60 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 presentations at national and international meetings. Dr. Abdel-Mageed has served on several National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD), and a number of international grant review panels (e.g. Qatar National Foundation, Italian Academy of Sciences, Singapore Medical Research Council, etc.). Additionally, Dr. Abdel-Mageed has been a mentor (for junior faculty members, graduate and undergraduate) at Tulane and other institutions and has participated on many research advisory boards for many U.S. institutions, such as Xavier University of Louisiana, Tuskegee University and Jackson State University.
Funded (~ $8 million) through federal (NIH/DOD) and private foundations (ASC), Dr. Abdel-Mageed's laboratory primarily focuses on basic research into the cellular and molecular aspects of urologic diseases, with particular attention given to prostate and bladder cancer. The laboratory has a special interest in identifying molecular determinants of prostate and breast cancer progression using in vitro and in vivo experimental approaches. Dr. Abdel-Mageed's laboratory has been conducting studies pertaining to isolation and characterization of in vivo differentially expressed genes of prostate cancer as they relate to age, race and tumor grade. Using cutting-edge technology of laser capture microdissection, suppressive subtractive hybridization, and custom cDNA microarray on fresh prostate specimens, his lab was able to isolate and characterize a selective subset of race-, and prostate tumor-specific nuclear matrix (NM) genes. One area of interest Dr. Abdel-Mageed is particularly focused on is unraveling the mechanisms of nuclear matrix proteins in prostate cancer progression, with special emphasis on their potential role in the disproportionate incidence and mortality of prostate cancer among African American men. Functional analysis of the differentially expressed NM genes should allow for more in-depth understanding of the underlying mechanisms regulating growth and metastasis of prostate cancer in African American men.
Dr. Abdel-Mageed’s laboratory is conducting DoD-funded research aimed at targeting “intracrine” production of androgens by prostate cancer cells at their sanctuary metastatic bone sites. To this end, one of his studies, recently funded by the NIH and DOD, is to assess the efficacy of genetically engineered adipose tissue-derived stem cells to eliminate androgen production and action on bone metastatic prostate cancer cells. The ultimate goal is to examine their effectiveness as an adjuvant approach to mainstay androgen deprivation therapy in a preclinical animal model and a clinical setting.
More recently, Dr. Abdel-Mageed's laboratory has discovered a novel role for tumor-derived exosomes in neoplastic reprogramming of mesenchymal stem cells, thereby potentiating clonal expansion of tumor cells at their primary and metastatic sites. This new concept attracted funding ($4.2 million) from the NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The objective is to target tumor-derived exRNA-containing microvesicles by high throughput screening of ~ 4,000 human approved drugs. The ultimate goals is to reposition FDA approved drug(s) to inhibit biogenesis/release of exosomes by tumor cells and/or their uptake by recipient cells to reduce or circumvent tumor growth in cancer patients. More details on this grant can be retrieved from the NIH press release - http://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_description.cfm?projectnumber=1UH2TR000928-01.
Dr. Abdel-Mageed serves in numerous roles at Tulane School of Medicine such as, Director, Molecular Oncology Research Laboratories in Urology, Tulane Cancer Center Program Member in the Signaling Program, Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology, Faculty, Tulane Center for Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine, and Faculty, Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences
